Mammary prosthesis

ABSTRACT

A MAMMARY PROSTHESIS IN WHICH LOOSE GRANULAR MATERIAL IS HELD IN A POCKET TO GIVE MINIMUM MOVING WEIGHT TO THE PROSTHESIS BUT IN WHICH WEIGHTS CAN BE ADDED TO INCREASE THE TOTAL WEIGHT ACCORDING TO CONDITIONS OF THE PATIENT EXISTING AT THE TIME, A FURTHER FEATURE BEING THE USE OF SHEEPSKIN AS THE BACKING MEMBER WITH THE WOOL IN CONTACT WITH THE BODY AND THE USE OF A WOVEN WOOL FABRIC FOR THE FORWARD PART WHICH IS CUT DIAGONALLY TO THE LINES OF THE THREAD AND SEWN TOGETHER TO GIVE THE REQUIRED SHAPE BUT ALLOWING STRECH BECAUSE OF THE DIAGONAL POSAITIONING. A FORWARD POCKET IS PROVIDED TO TAKE THE ADDED WEIGHT AND ALSO TO CONTAIN WOOL TOP PADDING MATERIAL BY MEANS OF WHICH THE SHAPE CAN BE VARIED SO THAT A PROSTHESIS IS PROVIDED IN WHICH BOTH SHAPE AND WEIGHT CAN BE ALTERED AT WILL.

NOV. 16, MANN MAMMARY PROSTHESIS 3 Shoots-Sheet 1 Filed June 5 1959 Nov.16, 1971 J. MANN 3,619,819

MAMMARY PROSTHES I S Filed June 5, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet B Nov. 16, 1971J. MANN MAMMARY PROSTHESIS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 5, 1969 UnitedStates Patent 3,619,819 MAMMARY PROSTHESIS Joyce Mann, Prospect, SouthAustralia, Australia, as-

signor of a fractional part interest to Lance L. Mann, Prospect, SouthAustralia, Australia Filed June 3, 1969, Ser. No. 830,017 Claimspriority, application Australia, June 3, 1968, 38,645/ 68 Int. Cl. A41c3/10 US. Cl. 3-36 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mammaryprosthesis in which loose granular material is held in a pocket to giveminimum moving weight to the prosthesis but in which weights can beadded to increase the total weight according to conditions f the patientexisting at the time, a further feature being the use of sheepskin asthe backing member with the wool in contact with the body and the use ofa Woven wool fabric for the forward part which is cut diagonally to thelines of the thread and sewn together to give the required shape butallowing stretch because of the diagonal positioning. A forward pocketis provided to take the added weights and also to contain wool toppadding material by means of which the shape can be varied so that aprosthesis is provided in which both shape and weight can be altered atwill.

This invention relates to an improved mammary prosthesis.

It is the practice at the present time after a patient has had anoperation for the removal of a breast, to fit a prosthesis which willrestore the shape of the wearer so that the operation is not apparent.

Such a prosthesis naturally must simulate the normal breast not only inshape but in feel and action because of the unbalancing of the body bythe removal of a breast particularly where there is a medium to largebreast formation involved. This viewed from the pyschological pointleaves the defect of which the patient is very conscious.

Thus it is not suflicient to simply build up the shape of the patientbut also to so construct the prosthesis that the weight of theprosthesis approaches that of the removed breast and also is capable ofan action similar to that of the breast so far as movement of the weightis concerned.

With the object of providing a satisfactory prosthesis, an earlierapplication of ours resulted in the grant of Letters Patent No. 272,327in which the problem was solved to a very high degree by utilizing awoolskin back on the prosthesis and a shaped front and to interposebetween the back and the front, partitioned by a material membrane, afree-flowing granular weighting substance and also wool tops or the likewhich built up the necessary shape. The reasons for this assembly beingfirstly that we have found that a sheepskin back is very advantageous asthe contact medium between the prosthesis, the skin, skin grafts andscar tissue which is a characteristics of these operations, the use ofthe free-flowing granular material adds weight to make the feel of theprosthesis as near as possible to the natural breast, the fact that theweighting material is free-flowing allows motion of the prosthesis asthe wearer moves or stoops or bends, and the wool top or similar fillingallows the prosthesis to be shaped to match the still remaining breastor both breasts if these have been removed, the prosthesis at the sametime having softness which closely approaches that of a natural breast.

One of the most important factors in a prosthesis is weight adjustment,and we have found that a wearer may require to change the weight fromtime to time due both 3,619,819 Patented Nov. 16, 1971 to bodily weightchanges, to tiredness and other functional factors, and an object ofthis invention is to provide an effective method of construction andweighting which not only will allow ready conforming to shape but alsoallow changing of the total weight of the prosthesis, while at the sametime adding a still further advantage in approaching the simulation of anatural breast. A further object is to allow correct stretch of thematerial of the prosthesis.

The object of correct stretch is achieved by forming the cloth orsimilar membranes which form the prosthesis front and disvision walls oftwo pieces formed by cutting at an angle to the lines of thread, theweight adjustment object being achieved by the utilization of weightingunits of a somewhat flexible nature which can be inserted at will andpreferably containing a free-flowing granular material so that theseunits can be selected by the s r and the weight of the prosthesis variedfrom time to time to achieve the maximum comfort and balance. Thus theweight can be gradually built up or lowered to suit the patient.

The actual construction of this invention can be considerably varied,but to enable the nature to be fully appreciated embodiments will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be clearthat the invention need not necessarily be limited to these.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an improved prosthesis,

FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view thereof showing in dotted lines a furtherweight adjusting member,

FIG. 4 shows such weight adjusting members indicating how weight anddimension can be varied, and

FIG. 5 is a transverse section of the prosthesis.

A piece of tanned sheepskin is cut to shape to form the backing piece 1of the prosthesis, the wool face of which is to lie against the skin ofthe wearer to form a soft skin-contacting back, and to this aremarginally sewn a plurality of membranes, in this case 2 and 3, theinternal membrane 2 being preferably formed of cotton and the other, thefront membrane 3, being a piece of woven wool fabric, the woven woolfabric being shaped to correspond approximately to the front surfacerequired of the prosthesis, preferably by cutting the cloth angularlyacross the. weft, joining by a seam 4 and shaping so as to give asomewhat conical shape to this front piece which can, however, flex dueto the forming of two half sections 5 and 6 substantially medially andapproximately diagonally to the lines of the threads of the cloth. Itwill be realized that this allows stretch of the material in variousplanes on each side of the seam 4 varying with the actual angle of cut.The wool spun yarn from which the fabric is made also has considerableelasticity and more than two of such pieces could be sewn together forthe required stretch.

The inner membrane 2 can be similarly cut and joined medially to giveflexibility but has a lower curvature as it serves merely to confinegranular weighting material 7 between it and the woolen back piece 1with sufiicient space to ensure free-flow.

In this way a pair of pockets 8 and 9 are formed, and into the rearpocket 8 is placed the free-flowing granular material which only partlyfills this compartment and which is arranged to be no more than theminimum weight which the prosthesis would ever be required to have, thisfree-flowing material being siliconized glass beads or the like andbeing permanently enclosed in the pocket.

The forward pocket 9 is provided with an opening 10 having closure means11 such as Press-studs which allow the placing into the pocket of longsubstantially cylindrical weight adjustment bags 12 having free-flowingor other granular weighting material 13 in them, as well as allowing theinsertion of padding material 14 into the pocket 9, preferably cardsliver wool or the like, so that then the prosthesis can be bothweighted by the addition of the bag or bags 12 of free-flowing materialand shaped by the insertion of the wool padding material 14.

By providing a pair of pockets 8 and 9 formed one on either side of aninner membrane 2 it will be realized that by providing the front pocket9 with an opening, but sealing the rear pocket 8, a prosthesis can bemanufactured which is readily washable and fully adjustable both inregard to weight and shape, it being possible to remove the additionalweights 12 from the forward pocket 9, and also the padding material 14which is loosely positioned in this forward pocket 9, and the prosthesiscan then be washed in the normal manner since the freeflowing materialsealed between the central membrane 2 and the woolskin back 1 of theprosthesis can be selected to be washable, the material such assiliconized glass beads being suitable for use in this way.

When the user Wishes to fit the prosthesis, it is only necessary toplace into it a selected weight adjusting bag 12, if added weight isrequired, and to insert the card sliver wool or the like paddingmaterial 14 into the forward pocket 9 until both the right weight andshape result.

If a lighter weight is required, the added bag 12 can be removed fromthe front pocket and a smaller bag substituted, and the reverse effectcan also be obtained by using a larger or heavier bag when added weightis required, or by using two bags with different positioning or length.

By using a bag of substantial length in relation to its area it will berealized that the bag 12 can be placed to lie in the lower part of thepocket 9 as shown in FIG. and can curve upwardly at the ends, as showndotted in FIG. 3, by any required amount. Further, the bag 12 canreadily be held in a selected position by the padding material 14 whichis placed into the pocket above same. Accordingly, it will be realizedthat a device is provided which can be readily fitted by a personrequiring a prosthesis and can from time to time be varied to enable theperson to have a prosthesis of the required weight or shape.

One of the problems in fitting devices of this type has always been toso arrange it that it was not necessary for changes to be made or forthe prosthesis to be selected at a clinic, and the present inventionassists greatly in overcoming any of the problems associated withfitting in that once the selection has been made of the most likelyshape and size and minimum weight, the user can automatically then varyboth the shape and weight at will by selecting the amount of paddingmaterial 14 which is placed into the forward pocket 9 and the amount ofadded weight in the nature of the bags 12 which can also be placed intothis compartment, leaving the rear compartment completely free so thatthe free-flowing weighting material 7 can move from side to side in thiscompartment, and the required movement of the weight will thus result.

The actual shape of the prosthesis can vary substantially, and it mayhave extensions to attain the correct shape or can have cut-aways to fitto portions of a breast still left in place.

Also means for attaching can be added such as the loops 15 to whichtapes or the like for positioning can be sewn to the unit, or clips orthe like may be used for attachment. Means to hold the bags 12containing the free-flowing or other weighting material can be includedat required localities instead of simply including same with the woolpadding in the front compartment, but usually these are not essential.

Just as an example the bags 12 could have tags 16 with press-studs 17 onthem to engage complementary members 18 at any required locality on saythe inner membrane 2, or this membrane could have pockets such as thepocket 19 indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 5.

What I claim is:

1. An improved mammary prosthesis comprising, a soft skin-contactingback, a front shaped membrane secured marginally to said back, amembrane between said back and said front shaped membrane to form a rearpocket and a forward pocket, said rear pocket containing flowableweighting material sealed therein, said forward pocket having an openingtherein through which padding material and additional weight controllingmeans can be inserted, said padding material substantially filling saidforward pocket and said additional weight controlling means comprisingweighting material substantially heavier than said padding contained inan elongated bag disposed across the Width of the prosthesis along andwithin the lower part of the forward pocket, whereby by the addition orremoval of said additional weight controlling means the weight of theprosthesis can be varied by the user to suit changing conditions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 938,856 11/1909 Henderson 1284811,502,436 7/1924 Negri 128517 2,598,003 5/1952 Leo et al 2-42 3,304,55812/1964 Mann 3-36 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,110,479 4/ 1968 Great Britain 3-36RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner J. C. MCGOWAN, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R. 128-478, 481

